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The above monogram was pasted inside the front cover of all the books from Sassoon’s library that were auctioned off by Sotheby’s in 1991. It was added as proof of provenance so that people could see they were genuinely bought at the sale. I have indicated below which books have the monogram.
It would appear that these books were presented to Sassoon by their authors at various times.
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Title:
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Marpessa (Monogram)
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Author:
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Stephen Phillips, Illustrated by Philip Connard
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Publisher:
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John Lane
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Date:
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1901
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Description:
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A poem
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Title:
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Ruminations in Rhyme (Monogram)
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Author:
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Henry King
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Publisher:
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Buvington Press
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Date:
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1907
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Description:
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Collection of poems by Henry King
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Title:
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Tantalus (Monogram)
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Author:
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Dorothy Easton
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Publisher:
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Heinemann
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Date:
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1923
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Description:
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A novel
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Title:
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A Gateway to Poetry (Monogram)
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Author:
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Compiled by Elizabeth Sturch
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Publisher:
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Gramol Publications Ltd.
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Date:
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1946
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Description:
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Collection of poems for boys and girls.
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Title:
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The Demon Lover and Other Stories (Monogram)
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Author:
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Elizabeth Bowen
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Publisher:
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Jonathan Cape
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Date:
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1946
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Description:
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A collection of short stories
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Title:
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The Judgement of Peers (Monogram)
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Author:
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Compiled by W. G. Bebbington
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Publisher:
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Staples Press
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Date:
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1949
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Description:
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Poem, “At the Grave of Henry Vaughan.”
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Title:
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The Harrap Book of Modern Verse (Monogram)
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Author:
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Edited by Maurice Wollman and Kathleen Parker
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Publisher:
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George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd.
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Date:
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1958
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Description:
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Four poems
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Title:
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Christmas and Other Poems (Monogram)
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Author:
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Katharine Kendall
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Publisher:
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Privately Published
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Date:
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c1961
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Description:
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Eleven poems
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From Vivian de Sola Pinto
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The little book below is very interesting as it was presented to Sassoon by Vivian de Sola Pinto who was his second in command while they served with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in France during the First World War. He was know as ‘Velmore’ in the Sherston Memoirs. The book is inscribed: “To Siegfried Sassoon from Vivian de Sola Pinto S. Hilaire July 1918.”
The village of St. Hilaire was part of the front line during 1918. There is no Monogram.
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Title:
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Spindrift
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Author:
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Vivian de Sola Pinto
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Publisher:
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Chapman and Hall Ltd
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Date:
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1918
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Description:
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Collection of poems by Vivian de Sola Pinto
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Books belonging to Hester Gatty
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Siegfried Sassoon married Hester Gatty and they had one son, George. These books belonged to Hester but do not carry the Sotheby’s monogram. The inscription below reads:
“Hester Gatty from Mummy October 1909.”
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Title:
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Golden Bells or Hymns for Our Children
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Author:
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Publisher:
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Children’s Special Service Mission
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Date:
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c1909
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Description:
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A collection of 628 hymns for children
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The book below is entitled “Ventures in Verse by Members of the Scratch Society.” This seems to have been a group of quite well-off but amateur poets and story writers who formed this society and occasionally got their work in to print. Hester Gatty was a member of the society and she has three poems in the book, “From the Hebrides,” “Tired” and “Moon-Beam.” The inscription reads:
“Hester Gatty 1924.”
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Title:
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Ventures in Verse
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Author:
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Various
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Publisher:
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Arthur H. Stockwell
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Date:
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c1924
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Description:
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A collection of 31 poems
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The book below is entitled “Old English Love Songs and Madrigals.” The inscription reads:
“Hester Gatty 1926”
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Title:
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Old English Love Songs and Madrigals
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Author:
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Various
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Publisher:
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Philip Allan & Co Ltd.
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Date:
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1926
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Description:
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A collection of songs
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The book below is entitled “Collected Poems of Edith Sitwell.” The book, which has an errata slip pasted in, must have been a review copy as the signature is 1929 and the publisher’s date is 1930. The inscription reads:
“Hester Gatty 1929”
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Title:
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Collected Poems of Edith Sitwell
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Author:
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Edith Sitwell
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Publisher:
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Duckworth
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Date:
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1930
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Description:
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The poetry of Edith Sitwell
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Title:
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The Autobiography of Margot Asquith Volumes I and II
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Author:
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Margot Asquith
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Publisher:
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Thornton Butterworth
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Date:
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1920
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Description:
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These books belonged to Nellie Burton, a good friend of Sassoon and later went into his library.
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Dr. Sheppard’s Peace Demonstration Programme
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Dr. Sheppard’s Peace Demonstration Programme - The programme above belonged to Siegfried Sassoon, the Sotheby’s proof of provenance monogram at the bottom left hand corner in the centre image above proves this to be the case.
This demonstration took place at the Royal Albert Hall, 14th July 1935. It was organised by the Rev. H.R.L. Sheppard, the Canon and Precentor of St. Paul’s Cathedral and one of the Chaplains to His Majesty King George V. This was a single fold programme, page 3 being four hymns to be sung during the meeting. The cover picture is by Arthur Wragg and shows a cenotaph encasing a stricken soldier and dripping with blood. This was produced as a large poster but was banned from the London Underground Stations at the time because it was “too gruesome.”
The programme is subtitled:
“Weep not for me but for yourselves,”
Inside on page 2 is the statement:
“I renounce War and never again, directly or indirectly, will I support or sanction another.”
There were four speakers at the demonstration, Siegfried Sassoon’s contribution was to read extracts from his war poems. The following descriptions appear on page 4:
- Dr. Maude Royden, C.H. D.D. Joint founder of the Guildhouse and a Pacifist during the war. Authoress of many works of a social and religious character. Lecturer and “the greatest woman preacher of our time.”
- Mr. Edmund Blunden, M.C. M.A. F.R.S.L. Poet and author. Served as an Infantry Officer during the last war and wrote “Undertones of War.” Formerly Professor of English Literature, Tokio University.
- Mr Siegfried Sassoon, M.C. Poet and Author. Hawthornden Prize. Served as an Infantry Officer during the last war. Wrote “Memoirs of an Infantry Officer.”
- Brig.-General F. P. Crozier, C.B. C.M.G. D.S.O. Croix de Guerre. Served in South African War and the last War and other Wars as an Infantry Officer and a Commander. Sometime Inspector-General of the Lithuanian Army and Commandant of the Police in Ireland during the Insurrection. Author of “A Brass Hat in No Man’s Land” and other war books.
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H. W. Massingham’s book from the library of Siegfried Sassoon plus letter to Sassoon
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H.W. Massingham was the editor of the Nation, a leading British radical weekly newspaper, between 1907 and 1923. Massingham published a number of Sassoon’s poems in the paper during these years. Equally as important, he was highly enough thought of by Sassoon to be asked his advice before Sassoon went ahead with his protest and was one of the people to whom Sassoon sent a copy of his original statement at the time.
This Book, ‘H.W.M. A Selection From the Writings of H. W. Massingham,’ which belonged to Sassoon, was published in 1925 by Jonathan Cape and edited by Massingham’s son, H. J. Massingham, (H.W.M. died in 1924). The letter, dated 16th February 1922, was sent to Sassoon by H.W. Massingham commenting on a poem Sassoon had submitted for publication ‘Reynardism Revisited,’ and also stating, “I’ll take all you care to write.” (The book carries the Sassoon ownership monogram.)
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The book on the left, ‘Cephalus and Procris - an episode between two wars’ by Eric George, once belonged to Siegfried Sassoon. The book carries the Sassoon monogram sticker inside the front cover as provenance that it was part of the great Sotheby’s sale of 1991 when many books from Sassoon’s library were auctioned off.
The book, a First Edition, was published by Harvill Press of London in 1954 and the publishers included a Compliments Slip (shown left), which reads:
“With the compliments of the Author and Publishers - With Compliments - (Publication date - 27th September, 1954) - The Harvill Press Ltd, publishers, 23 Lower Belgrave Street, London S.W.1...”
We will never know if Sassoon actually read this book, which is a 106 page poem based on a Greek myth. The pages are in mint condition and do not appear to be thumbed in any way which probably tells its own story!
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Cephalus and Procris by Eric George
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The book on the left, ’Beyond The Sunrise’ by James Bramwell, once belonged to Siegfried Sassoon. The book carries the Sassoon monogram sticker inside the front cover as provenance that it was part of the great Sotheby’s sale of 1991 when many books from Sassoon’s library were auctioned off.
The book, a First Edition, was published by William Heinemann Ltd in 1934 and the publishers included a Compliments Slip (shown left), which reads:
“Messrs. William Heinemann have the pleasure of sending this copy of - Beyond The Sunrise 3/6d net, by James Bramwell, Publication date June 11th - for the favour of a review.”
I do not know whether Sassoon did review this book or not, which is a collection of twenty-nine poems. The cover states they are poems written objectively rather than subjectively which was the fashion of the day.
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Beyond The Sunrise by James Bramwell
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